Men's Basketball Defeats Penn State-DuBois 102-63

Nov. 23 – DUBOIS, Pa. – The Bethany College men’s basketball team reached the century mark for the first time this season, as they defeated Penn State–DuBois 102-63 on Saturday evening. Five different players notched double figures for the Bison, who improved their record to 3-0 to open the season.

Penn State came out of the gate strong and had the Bison down five points (9-4) early in the first half thanks to a three-point shot by Kyle Mills. However, that would be Bethany’s largest deficit of the evening.

In a run that lasted just under nine minutes of clock time, the Bison blew the game wide open, thanks to a 30-2 run. Over the course of the run, the Bison received eight points from Antonio Rudolph and six points each from Delonte’ Joyce (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis), Lawrence Weldon (Baltimore, Md./Poly) and Tyrone Smothers (Baltimore, Md./Mergenthaler) to put Bethany up 34-11 with 8:17 to play in the half.

Penn State would cut the lead to as close as 16 in the first half, but could get no closer as Bethany went into intermission with a 48-29 halftime lead.

In the opening frame, the Bison dominated, holding a 32-10 edge on points in the paint and holding large advantages in both points off turnovers (23-6) and second-chance points (12-0).

In the second half, Bethany continued to increase its lead, outscoring DuBois by 20 in the half. Once again, it was the points in the paint that allowed Bethany to dominate, outscoring Penn State 28-12 around the hoop. The Bison also saw 39 points from their reserve players in the second half of play to help Bethany go on for the 102-63 victory.

Playing in just 23 minutes, Joyce totaled 16 points, added five rebounds and finished the game with six steals and four assists. Seven other players on the roster notched at least eight points, including Darrian Bruster (Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Central Catholic), who finished with 13 off the bench. Bruster also finished with 12 rebounds to give him his first double-double of his career.

Kevin Jackson (Baltimore, Md./Walbrook) totaled 11 points while Weldon chipped in with 10. The Bison also got nine points each from Pedro Lalor (Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips) and Michael McElhenie (Waterford, Pa./General McLane), as well as eight points from Smothers.

Bethany dominated in every facet of the game, shooting 55 percent from the floor while holding PSU-DuBois to 33 percent shooting. The team also held a +27 advantage on the glass (47-20) and a +9 in turnover differential, making just 12 compared to PSU-DuBois’ 21.

The Bison will look to extend their winning streak to four on Tuesday when they take on the Fighting Muskies of Muskingum University. The contest is scheduled to follow the women’s contest, which begins at 6 p.m.